The Paradox of His Existence
by Naratu
Summary: Naruto's journey as he strives to figure out the paradox to his existence. He does not care how long it takes, for he walks in eternity.  Naruto as Paradox from Ben 10 Alien Force  One-Shot


Naruto and Madara stood face to face. It was four years after the Akatsuki's downfall, and Naruto was the new Hokage. He finally achieved his dream, but he felt…wrong. His life was empty. He did not have full satisfaction in life like when he was a genin. He dedicated most of his time to doing work, and paperwork. He no longer went to Ichiraku, he didn't have the time. He didn't realize it but he had grown apart from most of his friends. He no longer knew them as he once did. He only saw Iruka once every other month, and didn't even chase after Sakura's affection anymore.

His friends tried to get him to take a break, but he was so keen on not making a single mistake as Hokage that he stayed later, and worked harder. Eventually he became a shell of the man he once was. He grew weaker, and with his new weakness he grew fear of losing his post. That fear made him extremely paranoid and he pushed the last of his friends away.

Two years later Madara attacked. He came without warning, one minute there was peace and the next moment, half of the village was consumed by the black flames of Amatseru. All of Naruto's old friends fell before his eyes to the Uchiha's numerous techniques. Thanks to years of relaxation and his paranoia he no longer had the strength to defeat the Uchiha. What was even worse was that Madara knew it.

After the screaming died down all that was left of the once great Konoha was smoking ruins, rivers of blood, and a single, shell of a man.

"Naruto-kun, you disappointed me…The Will of Fire was supposed to beat the evil of the world remember?" Madara talked in a mock voice of a parent scolding a child, "Your second rate blood is not worthy to stain my shoes, let alone my blade."

Naruto glared up at Madara, his sunken eyes glaring daggers at his enemies form. "Why don't you just kill me and end it you son of a bitch?"

Madara slammed his knee into Naruto's face breaking his nose. He lifted Naruto up and spat in his face. His face no longer held any pretense of sympathy, just plain hatred and rage. "I am going to kill you. I am going to send you into the pathway of dimensions using Kamui. In there no one can save you, or even use your corpse for knowledge. You will just be as you were in life, a useless dope. I hope it is painful Naruto-kun. Before I send you there I want you to know… I killed Sasuke."

Hearing this Naruto's eyes widened and filled with tears. Seeing this, a grin came upon Madara's face. "Oh yes, he was slain by my blade, but don't worry…He had some use before he died…Behold the Gods Sharingan." Madara's sclera turned completely red, and his pupils turned into a pentagram. Naruto started to struggle, but Madara's hold on his neck was making him lose consciousness. Before the darkness consumed him he felt a hole open up in his stomach, and excruciating pain as the rest of his body was sucked in. The last thing he heard was Madara shouting out, "Good-bye Naruto-Kun! The Will of Fire has finally been put out!" The last thing Naruto did in his own dimension was shed a tear for all the people he had failed. Hopefully his demise would appease them. If only life were as simple as that.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes and saw colors rushing by him. He knew not where he was, he had a feeling he knew…not _when_ he was. All he could do was float along in the seemingly endless tunnel. He could feel him speeding by, but he did not know what he was speeding by. Nothing seemed to make sense in this…wherever he was. He laid down and watched as the colors streamed by. Maybe it was the pathway to heaven? Or it could lead to…hell. Either way he could not wait for the trip to be over. He wished to end his journey and reunite with his loved ones, or pay for his sins. Either option better than this torture.

* * *

HE HATED THEM! ALL OF THEM! ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WENT WRONG IN LIFE HAPPENED TO HIM! Who was beaten as a child? HIM! Who was cursed as the son of a hero, who he could never amount to? HIM! Who failed after he devoted his life to his cause? HIM! All the SHIT in life happened to HIM! AND NOW, HE WAS TRAPPED IN THIS GOD-DAMNED PORTAL, .ENDED!

He figured that he was abandoned by all and left in this void. He grew insane with blood-lust. He thought up intricate plans and weapons that would wipe out all life as he knew it. All existence gone in less than a second. He smiled at the thought of their pained screams, enjoying the feel of blood running down his body, and craving the next kill.

He started to experiment; with jutsus, exercise, anything he could DO in this dimension. He refined all of his new skills to the peak of his old existence…His Existence. Did he exist? What could tie him to reality in this pseudo-hell? He searched his body and realized that there was one thing that confirmed his existence…The Kyuubi. But he was shocked to realize that there was only a fraction of it remaining. He started to cry. The only constant in his existence, the one thing he could depend on no matter what, was leaving.

As he felt the last drop of it's power absorbed by him he howled. He cried out in uncontrollable rage. Everything in life…was now taken from him. At that moment he fell into unconsciousness. Kyuubi's memories sprang forth into his mind. Every kill, and act of genocide, hurtling him further into chaos. He went so far, nothing would be able to save him…only time could heal his soul.

* * *

He watched as he swooped past a golden segment of his new home. He regained sanity eons ago, after venting all of his anger. He felt much better now, so much that he even began to smile again. The one thing about him that didn't change was his experiments. But now, he began experimenting with medicinal, illusional, philosophical, and political arts. He fine-tuned his mind to the point where he could devise a proficient training regime, for the next millennia, in a matter of milliseconds. He now contemplated the mysteries of the universe, most often the paradox of existence. He thought as if he were presenting it to a board of directors or his peers, in order to feel like he was actually doing something, and not being stuck in an event-horizon. He realized about two hundred thousand years ago that when Madara ripped a whole in space, it lead to the wormhole called time. He had a nice speech all prepared, as if he was an actual scientist, and presented it constantly, fine tuning it to his liking.

'_Existence is demonstrably paradoxical, that is, it apparently does not make rational sense. Nature makes an inordinate amount of sense but existence itself is patently irrational and, thus, possibly supernatural. Nonetheless, attempt to rationally explain existence have proliferated since the dawn of humanity, but I have found that all of these have led back to paradox rather than solving the paradox of existence._

_Despite the persistent possibility existence may be somehow illusory or beyond definitive resolution, the rate of progress in understanding out existence is rapidly increasing. To better understand it I have begun a journey that begins with a general understanding of the history of paradox and the absurd… Why do I feel that I am missing something?"

* * *

_

It went on like that for a few more millennia, before Naruto discovered something. He had passed a golden segment of the event-horizon, just a few seconds ago… If memory serves, which it always has, then it was the exact same segment that he passed a few eons ago! If that was the case then this place had a definite path, and if that was true than he could map it out. If his theories were correct about where he was and if he could successfully learn to navigate this dimension, then he would be the only real time-traveler! He would be able to navigate, and bend time, to HIS liking! If that was true he could overcome the paradox of his existence and he would be FREE! HE COULD LIVE AGAIN! Once this thought entered his head Naruto started to multitask. One part of his brain mapped out time, while the other theorized and contemplated what the effect of him going back in time would be to his dimension. He realized that he would absorb the Kyuubi and the other time's version of himself, but he didn't care. It was all worth it if he could save those he failed. And so he devoted his full attention to the project at hand. He would succeed. Nothing would stop that.

* * *

There was fire and blood on the ground. Death and decay on the wind, and lives and hopes were thrown out to the sea. The Juubi destroyed all in its path. It's single eye glowing with malice at all of that which it destroyed. It only thought of life and death as a game. Half of the world had ceased to be, a reminder of what corruption brought to be seen by all generations. If the world survived, and the Juubi had no intention of that happening. It raised its paw and moved to shatter the Earth's crust.

Then suddenly a portal opened right in front of it. A man with blonde hair and ocean blue eyes stepped out of it. He held a firm staff in his hand, and had robes that seemed fit on royalty. He had a regal face, with a crooked nose and six "whisker" marks, three on each cheek, which only seemed to add character to it. He calmly walked forward and observed the monster in front of him. The mighty beast roared and the man just smiled and said,

"To see the world as a grain of sand

And heaven in a wild flower

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour."

When he finished the beast fired a beam of energy straight at him. There was a flash of light as the beam made contact with the man's hand. Then all was dark. Silence pervaded the countryside, and worried villagers left their hiding places to see what happened. They were shocked to see instead of the fearsome monster, a gentle man smiled at them and waved them over. Though they drew back in fear at the eyes of the Juubi, his voice made them listen and understand.

"The Juubi is gone. I sealed him into me to save you. My eyes are the only thing that is left of him. I will teach those willing to heal the wounded. You may call me Paradox for that is what I am…"


End file.
